FOCUS BELONGS ON REPAIRS, BASIC CITY SERVICES

Last Thursday, many trick-or-treaters in Encanto and City Heights went door to door in their neighborhood without the safety benefit of streetlights. High schoolers in San Ysidro navigate a dangerous stretch between a steep canyon and busy street with no sidewalks. And in neighborhoods across our city, San Diegans are driving over potholes, ruts and patches of crumbling asphalt every day.

In perhaps the most egregious form of neglect, residents in our southeastern neighborhoods live with the risk that their 911 calls will go unanswered well after the national standard response time of seven-and-one-half minutes because we don’t have enough fire stations in the area to serve the population.

How did we get here? Over the past decade, our elected representatives’ attention has been focused on big downtown projects instead of focusing on repairs and maintenance in our neighborhoods. San Diegans are tired of the status quo and want to see their leaders working together to deliver basic city services. I demonstrated this ability both in the Marine Corps, as we focused solely on our mission, and in Sacramento, where I brought together Democrats and Republicans to pass Chelsea’s Law, help unemployed workers keep their health care and help distressed homeowners during the mortgage crisis.

As your mayor, I’ll refocus that energy and political will on investing in our neighborhoods and deliver to San Diegans the basic services they expect: smooth streets, safe neighborhoods, and pipes and facilities that work.

By conservative estimates, we’re at least $1 billion behind on repairs and maintenance of our basic neighborhood needs — the very things our city government exists to provide. Even with the millions we’re spending on streets each year, our conditions have continued to decline. In the past few years, our city has gone from the having the eighth-worst roads in America to the fourth-worst — hardly the high national ranking we want.

In my Investing in Neighborhoods Plan, released last week, I laid out my plan to address the backlog of needs. The first task will be to “stop the bleeding.” Once we understand the full scope of our backlog of needs through the assessment currently under way, we’ll determine how much investment it will take to stop the deterioration. My very first budget will provide funding to stabilize the conditions of our neighborhoods as we come up with a comprehensive plan to rebuild our city over the next several years.

Once our long-term plan is in place, I’ll form an office of Neighborhood Investment (ONI), led by a Neighborhood Investment Officer who will be responsible for coordinating the efforts of the various city departments working on these projects. The ONI will serve as a liaison between community members, neighborhoods, and city government, and be a one-stop shop for all matters concerning neighborhoods revitalization.

I’ll also launch a Community Catalyst Program to help guide and prioritize neighborhood needs. An appointed community catalyst from each of San Diego’s communities will work with city staff to facilitate neighborhood-level discussions regarding the types of investments needed in each community.

Finally, I’ll prioritize projects in historically neglected neighborhoods — particularly those with public-safety implications. There’s something inherently wrong with letting our low-income population remain at risk for delayed responses to the 911 emergency calls, and I’ll move immediately to end this disparity.

It’s time to get our priorities straight and focus on basic city services. I’m ready to lead that effort and make San Diego work again.

Fletcher, a Democrat, is a Qualcomm executive and former state assemblyman.